We are being snookered by the Obama administration into believing the Iranian proposal to limit their uranium enrichment program in return for sanctions reduction is a good deal for America.
The Iranian proposal would be to take about half of their inventory of 20 percent enriched material and dilute it to 5 percent, typical power reactor enrichment. This would be a very positive step.
The other half of their inventory would be converted from gaseous uranium hexafluoride to uranium dioxide. The administration would have us believe that oxide conversion renders the material incapable of further enrichment.
As easily as the gas is converted to oxide, it can be reconverted to gas by simple chemical processes and then enriched to higher levels. As a matter of fact, the original uranium ore, mined as pitchblende, is mostly uranium oxide and must be converted to gas for use in their centrifuges.
How certain are we that they don’t have sites, unknown to the inspectors, where the advanced centrifuges are spinning 24/7?
If we are not careful, we may wake up some morning, turn on our TVs and see a beaming ayatollah announce to the world that they have acquired fully enriched material and have started weaponizing.
SAMUEL CERNI
Churchill
The writer is a retired Westinghouse engineer who dealt with uranium applications in his work.
First Published: August 5, 2014, 4:00 a.m.